Tranced
by stardvst
Summary: Despite everything that's happened, he finds himself in the same spot, on the same night, a week later. What kind of magic show is this? / AN: This was going to be more than one chapter, and I may continue it someday, but for now it's a oneshot that was requested by a mutual.


The room is dark and mysterious, fog shifting around the room and curling around the stage, and wandering eyes observe the strange décor. When they had pulled up, him and Pacifica and Melody, he had marveled at the tent, the huge shelter that glowed and beckoned him forward.

The commercial for the fated 'Tent of Telepathy' had been nothing less intriguing, advertising the Alchemy Twins, hinting at magic that wasn't just slight-of-hand, and despite the ban from their Grunkle Stanley to visit, Gideon found himself rooted to his seat as the lights dimmed farther every second and a single spotlight shone upon the stage.

A hush falls over the crowd as behind the curtain, another spotlight appears and a wavering shadow of a triangle appears, and he finds himself leaning forward, eager, while Pacifica picks her nails.

He watches as the triangle glitches in and out of view, and notices there's a chain attached to its leg, or what look like a leg. After a few moments of glitching, a voice floats through the audience.

 _Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram._

That causes a stir in the audience, and Gideon notices Pacifica look up from peeling her nail polish, obviously intrigued by the voice everyone has heard clearly but yet hasn't said a word out loud.

He leans over to ask his blonde cousin something, mouth just forming the letter _w_ when there's an explosion of blue, smoke, and the cloud curls upwards, towards the top of the tent. From the cloud emerges a set of glowing blue eyes, and they scan the audience for a second before the triangle disappears and all lights are extinguished.

The only things left are the glowing eyes, and then suddenly, with a laugh that sends shivers down Gideon's spine, adding to his uneasy feeling, a rush of air hits him in the face and the spotlight appears, illuminating what, or to be more specific, _who's,_ on the stage.

There's a single girl, maybe fifteen at most, and in that moment, Gideon thinks she's the prettiest thing he's ever seen. The girl has pale skin dotted with pink cheeks and a wide smile, has a mass of curled chestnut hair that trails behind her like a veil and is dressed in a white shirt with sleeves that are puffy at the arms before they slim at her wrists. On top of that lies buttoned up is a scoop-neck turquoise-blue vest that highlights the sapphire-colored bow that sits at her neck.

Gideon follows her body downwards and finds himself blushing against his own accord. She's wearing an inky black leotard underneath her shirt and vest, and where the vest ends the leotard stops at the top of her thighs. There's a pair of heeled boots that reaches her mid-thigh that looks to be indigo, and little bows the same color as the one adorning her hair travel up the sides, occasionally brushing against her train.

The train is the same color as her vest, and gracefully follows from her hips. It's tiered, almost as if she took a ball gown and cut it in half, and Gideon thinks that if she's an angel, he would gladly die here and now.

Cerulean blue eyes search the stunned, darkened crowd, and a smile graces her pink lips as her eyes connect with his. A voice in mind giggles, _thank you,_ and shaking his head and staring at her with surprise and a little fear, he swallows as she winks at him before, in a puff of smoke, produces a curtain. Taking the curtain in her hands, also a dark blue like her bow, she twirls it around before throwing it into the air.

The silk-looking curtain flutters to the floor and the audience explodes with applause as the curtain hits the stage. In place of the curtain stands a boy, about the same height as the girl, and the two are dressed similarly.

The boy, who also looks to be about fifteen, possibly sixteen, is more laid-back and has a colder facial expression than his female counterpart. His hair, as brown as his partner's, is messy but pulled away slightly from his forehead, hinting at a birthmark that looks suspiciously like a constellation. Gideon guesses it's either the Little or Big Dipper, and isn't sure what to think. Is it real?

Like the girl he has a white shirt, but the sleeves are not as loose fitting, but it still has wrist braces. His vest is also turquoise-blue, but instead of it scooping, it cuts sharply half-way down his chest, bringing all attention to the black ribbon tied around his neck, contrasting against the paleness of his skin and the glow of the amulet tied in the middle.

Like before, Gideon admirers the outfits, following the boy's clothes downward. Instead of a leotard that accentuates his thighs he wears tight black pants and black oxfords. Rather than a train like the girl next to him who holds their hands high as the crowd cheers, a cape falls off his shoulders, the same dark-blue as his counterpart's bow at her throat.

The albino boy sits there stunned, as Melody stands, clapping and whistling, and after stealing a look at his cousin, who is stuck to her seat in shock, notices her gaze focused solely on the boy who bows and holds his hand out for the girl, who sends the audience a smile before curtseying.

As she does, the audience roars, and the stage is showered in roses from adoring fans, but she doesn't take notice as the boy, who presents his other hand that was behind his cape, draws all attention to a single blue flower in his gloves.

By the look of it from this distance, Gideon guesses it's a gentiana, but he's not sure. The brunette boy tucks it next to the girl's headband, which also holds a gem like his, and another glance at Paz confirms that she's fallen for this mysterious boy, and the sight of the girl accepting the flower from her partner causes her eyes to harden. Her white-haired cousin watches her as she sets her sights on her nails again, resuming her picking at the polish.

Gideon sits there, astonished, as the stage changes. The lights are once again extinguished and the only thing that's left is the glowing of the gems on the boy's neck and the girl's headband.

Even then, after a few seconds, they also disappear and they're left in darkness. The audience rustles, pumped for what's next, and once again Gideon finds himself on the edge of his seat, leaning forward as he tries to squint through the inky-darkness of the room.

Suddenly, light floods the tent, and excitement runs through his veins, and he can only bear to cover his eyes for a second, too anticipated for what's next.

The girl once again stands on the stage, and she's smirking, taking small steps towards the audience, and the music slowly rises as she reaches the end. Every step, albeit small, causes her hips to swing and her train to rock with it. Her outfit has changed slightly, and instead of a white puffy shirt, she wears a ringmaster's jacket but it's different. The jacket is the same dark blue as her bow was and the neckline plunges to her hips.

Underneath where the jacket opens is a v-neck leotard that hints at cleavage, and is reminiscent of her vest, the same baby blue and turquoise pallet. The bottom of the leotard is the same as her old costume, black and hemmed where her thighs start, but it's sparkly this time.

She reaches the front of the stage, blowing a kiss and winking, and the audience explodes again. There's cheering and yelling and occasional whistling, and Gideon joins this time, standing on top of his seat as the girl turns and once again swings her hips as she walks back towards the end of the stage, where the boy has appeared.

His outfit has changed too, into a Persian blue that's slightly darker but enough to still compliment hers, and also cuts down his chest, about to where his chest dips. It's like a vest, unlike hers, and from then on down are black tights. His ringmaster's jacket is almost the same as hers, but it's the color of her jacket, a subtle mix of baby blue and turquoise.

Her hand slides along his shoulder and she leans close, whispering something in his ear, and Gideon's stomach drops as the stern expression melts into a smirk, something cold than makes his insides squirm.

She's still turned away from the crowd when he moves forward, his toes pointed out as he takes small steps and stops, facing the audience, and another shiver finds its way down his spine as those cold blue eyes sweep over the throngs of people.

The music stops and the lights dim, two spotlights focused purely on the two on stage, and the stage begins to turn as the music starts again, a simple beat they move their feet to, and Gideon can't look away, so enraptured by the scene before him.

They turn, pivot on the balls of their feet, and walk the opposite way of the stage turning. It's simple but so attention catching, and he can't seem to tear his eyes away.

They circle each other, slowly, until the stage stops and they do too, and they're on opposite sides. She's on the right side while the boy stands on the left, and then with a burst of energy they're running towards each other and the music swells.

At the last moment before they crash into each other, the boy ducks, grabs the girl by the waist and hoists her into the air, and the girl stretches out, looking as comfortable in the air as she does on the ground.

The boy spins once, twice, before lowering her until she's under him, between his legs on the stage floor, and she winks at the audience as he holds there for a second before he hoists her again, the muscles in his arms showing through his shirt. As he brings her upwards again, she straightens her legs and he releases her. Gideon finds himself sucking in a breath as she slips from his grasp and cleanly flips over the head of her partner, and he can feel his heartbeat in his ear, drowning out the audience.

As she flips over his head, he turns and as her legs point towards the ground again, he extends his arms the moment she hits the ground and as soon as her toes hit the ground, his hands are at her hips and they disappear in a bang and a puff of smoke.

His cape and her train flutter to the ground as the smoke clears.

There's an uproar from the audience as they look around the tent, and a whistle draw their attention to the ceiling, and Gideon swear his heart stops beating.

There's two platforms set up, and he knows instantly it's a trapeze act, but what stops his heart is the fact that there's no net between the two and the audience. If one was to slip, it would be a straight fall into the crowd, and there was no promise they would be caught.

The girl is at one end, on her tiptoes and one arm extended above her head as she winks down at them, and the boy is at the other end, hands folded behind his back as she prepares to mount the swing.

One hand holds the swing while the other is wrapped around the pole that holds up the platform, and Gideon wipes his sweaty hands on his shorts, his heart beating faster than he ever thought possible. It's palpitating so fast and hard that he wouldn't be surprised if he keeled over right here and now from a heart attack.

Finally, her two hands enclose the pole swing and she pushes off, immediately bringing her feet together into a point in front of her as she soars over the crowd, smiling as if what she's doing is normal and not at all about to kill him from anxiety.

She swings back and forth, building momentum as her body moves gracefully through the air, and he's reminded of a hummingbird. Once she's built up enough energy, she's simply a blur of blue and brown, a flash of a smile and a whisper of a laugh, and he wishes he could do what she's doing.

Meanwhile the boy, who Gideon notices his cousin's eyes are once again trained on, has also been swinging back and forth on his own pole swing but instead of hanging from his hands, he's upside down. He's hanging from his knees, and every once in a while his legs part to help him gain a handhold to he can change positions.

The music starts to swell again, and Gideon can feel the audience's excitement and nerves over what's about to happen, and even though he thought he was already there, he's leaning forward again, looking up, palms sweating as the tempo rises.

His breath catches and his heart stops dead in his chest as she flies forward as the boy does also, and then she's letting go and flying through the air towards him and he's extending his arms and their hands catch at the same time something _pops_ loudly and the noise in the room disappears.

It's only for a second though, and the noise returns, uproarious applause and whistling that tapers off when they notice the empty pole swings except for the two doves that sit there, cooing as the swings continue to softly rock and back and forth.

Confetti flutters from the heavens.

He shakes his head, confused, and whips his head around, looking for the pair of Alchemy Twins, and sees Pacifica do the same. She catches his eyes and yells over the din, but to him it looks like she's mouthing the words because he can't hear a thing.

" _WHERE'D THEY GO?"_

He shrugs, eyes still roaming the room, and it doesn't help that the spotlights are traveling around the tent walls and over the crowd, trying to find the two, but it's out of the corner of his eye that he sees them; in the crowd, blending in through the shadows and acting like everyone else.

They're looking around, pointing, even talking to other people about where they could be, and Gideon's frozen. _How are they doing that?_ He snaps out of his funk and points, yelling atop the masses as Melody picks him up. _"OVER THERE!"_

A spotlight swings around and two leotards and two twin ringmaster's coats fall to the ground, illuminated.

At the exact same time as the clothes hit the floor, the spotlight focuses back on the stage, where the girl stands still, with her hand raised in the air and right foot out, posing. She's dressed in a Persian blue dress that sharply cuts down to her chest and buckles around her throat. There's a slit up the side, to the front and a single, pale leg is poised from beneath the flowly skirt.

From the heavens falls a curtain, completely white and pure, and it blocks the view of the girl for only a second, but that's all she needed. She stands there, curtain now fluttering to the ground around her, and her dress from before is gone. There's applause from the audience as the stage begins to turn again, and she struts, letting her hips swing in her new dress.

Wide-eyed, him and his cousin exchange incredulous looks. The girl is now in a form-fitting baby blue-turquoise dress that hugs her form, decorated with midnight-blue accents around her shoulders, and at mid-thigh, splits, accentuating both her legs at the heels that adorn her feet.

In a flash of smoke a box appears, and the stage stops as she saunters towards it. The box is wood, maybe pine or oak, and has their familiar star etched into it, with the eye inside the middle that he swears is looking at him.

Winking at the audience the girl opens it and the boy steps out, wearing a white shirt under midnight-blue suit complete with the ribbon around his neck again. The suit's cuffs are two different colors; one is white and the other black and the back extends to almost his knees. It's more of trenchcoat that a suitcoact.

He takes the door from his sister's hand and with the other hand helps her in. She settles herself, smirking at the audience as he closes the door and takes a lighter out of his pocket.

The audience begins to yell as he flicks the lighter open and once it sparks, brings it close enough to the box that it catches. The wood is so old that it catches immediately and Gideon's on his feet, yelling for help as the box burns away into nothing in seconds.

He's close to crying as the smoke clears and there she stands, smirking, hands on her hips as the last of her dress burns away with the wood.

The dress she's wearing now is a dark, dark blue; so dark it looks like black, that drapes off her figure. It's cinched at the waist and falls straight to the floor, and lace over her chest and stomach hint at skin. There's a cape that covers the whole thing, the same color as the rest of the dress, and it hangs over her shoulders, falling with the rest of the dress.

A single ember, one that had been flying around, lands on her dress and the audience screams as she goes up in flames. The girl reaches for the boy, screaming in what Gideon knows is pain, and the second her hand touches his he's engulfed as well.

The crowd is crazy, screaming for help and pulling out their phones, but as soon as they hit the number for the police, the fire stops and two outfits fall to the floor, smoldering.

Silenced in shock, the audience is still, and Gideon hears someone sniffling towards the back of the crowd.

A noise fills the room, a sound of wind and rain and water, and the lights turn out.

The crowd hushes and Gideon finds himself still on Melody's shoulders but he can't seem to care because he can see over the people in front on him.

All at once, an umbrella appears, but it's light and not physical but he can _see_ the boy beneath the umbrella, holding onto it as it waves in the wind. From the light illuminating from the umbrella he can see that it's _under_ the umbrella that it's raining, but not actual rain, but the boy's soaked already.

As soon as the boy appeared, the entire throng of people sighed, and Gideon feels like crying himself. What kind of magic act is this?

Suddenly the umbrella is wrenched from the boy's grasp and flies into the sky, turning into a moon and then they boy's hunched over as a werewolf rips it's way from his clothes, rising up against the inky black.

He's gasping, the crowd is hushed into silence with shock, and he's never seen anything so wondrous or magical in his life, all anxiety of the previous act gone.

The wolf rises from the hunched boy's body but lightning strikes, taming him and forcing him back into the soaked male, and he rises again, twirling away, just as hand reaches for him before retreating and dropping a girl.

She blows in the wind, her body limp, and all of the sudden emerges, shocked, and the boy reaches for her. Both are dressed in simple clothes; the girl in a coal-colored shift and the boy in a thin shirt and pants of the same color.

Suddenly they're dancing in the rain, twirling and swirling like the drops behind them, but then they're inside, but outside the window it's still raining. The window bends towards him and the boy extends an arm to catch the girl but she's gone, swallowed by the rain and he runs towards a ghost of her.

The window tilts and he reaches his hand inside, feeling, and it reemerges with her, soaked, but he's holding her now, as if she's dead. She's limp and he holds her close until a gust of wind knocks her from his grasp and she disappears again in the storm.

He lays her on the stairs, or what Gideon thinks is stairs, he cant see because it's dark, but suddenly her top half slips _into_ the stairs and she's just light. The boy sees and desperately tries to pull her back out and when he does, she slips from his grasp and the hand reappears, snatching her faster than Gideon's wide eyes can see.

A faceless head appears, taunting the lonely boy, and without hesitation he jumps into the mouth.

Gideon gasps, searching, as the stage grows black until the boy's spit back out, roaring as he reappears and sucks all of the rain into his body, as if with magic. Summoning the moon he consumes it with his body and slips into light.

He's joined by a girl of light and the stage descends into black.

There's whooping and crying and whistling and Gideon thinks he's doing all of them as the lights return and the music changes to something more calming. No one is summoned to leave but they begin to file out anyways, eyes alight and chattering and _blown away_ by two teenagers.

Once outside, the three except to see the two, perfectly fine and dandy, but there's no one there except a girl with fiery red hair pulled into a messy bun and dressed in a dress that flows over her body. It's a smoky indigo color and has layers that fall aside as they reach her thighs until all that remains is a single thin layer of fabric that falls against her thigh boots.

She's stone-faced but her eyes seem to hint at something more behind the mask and she holds nothing but a bag. As they walk by, people drop money into the bag and she nods at each one, saying nothing but a single phrase.

"Come again."

Melody climbs into the car but doesn't start it; the three lay low as everyone else leaves. They had come later, so had parked further away, and the handywoman hands them all binoculars. Their car was parked behind an empty dumpster, the only spot they could find anywhere near the tent, and moments after the last car pulls out, a man appears from the back of the tent and slides a hand around the redhead's waist.

With a start, Gideon realizes it's him, the male from the show.

It's hard to tell from so far away but it looks like he's dressed in a navy blue sweater overtop black pants and shoes, and a trenchcoat of black with lapels of baby blue and turquoise stands out against the ribbon tied around his neck that once again holds the gem.

The redhead rolls her eyes as he saddles up next to her and whispers something in her ear, but then she looks offended and pushes him away, running back into the tent with him fast on her heels.

Melody waits until the door is closed before turning on the car and quietly pulling out, heading home, and Gideon and Pacifica watch the tent closely until it's lost in the trees, wondering what was going on exactly behind those baby-blue walls.

* * *

Blue, glowing eyes peek through the door's keyhole, and a silky voice next to him numbs his senses while the aroma of pine needles and ashes flood his nose. "Are they gone?" breathes the voice in his ear and he nods, standing up and turning to see the woman behind him.

"Finally."

She smiles once before her lips are against his and he relaxes into it, wrapping his arms around her waist as they reel backwards and he feels his back slam into the wall. The redhead has her hands knotted in his messy hair and her lips against his help chase away the events of the day.

What was meant to be their routine post-show makeout session turns into something more as the passion builds, wrapping them both in a fury of lust as they grapple at each other's clothes. His fingers rake at her dress and her own tug at the hairs at the nape of his neck.

He lets his tongue slip between her lips, knowing it always makes her melt against him, and as soon as her body relaxes against his he flips them, pushing her into the wall as his hand starts to slide down her waist and traces circles into her hip as his fingers inch lower. The man's fingers skim against the fabric that rests at the apex of her thighs, and he feels her moan against his mouth, every moment causing her to grow more desperate and needy and he chuckles into her lips.

She whimpers as his fingertips move away, leaving sparks in it's wake and instead trace back towards her stomach as his mouth leaves hers in favor of her ear. He presses his lips to the shell of her ear and begins murmuring small phrases into her ear that only has her sob in pent-up need.

The straps of her thin dress have slipped off her pale, slim shoulders and he buries his nose in her hollowed collarbone, biting and licking at the freckles that dot her perfect skin as she simply mourns the loss of his touch where she wants, needs, him most. In a moment where he loses himself to worshipping her exposed shoulders and collarbone, she takes the initiate, grabbing the lapels of his coat and forcefully spinning him. Once again his back slams into the wall and before he can breathe, her lips descend on his.

Before he knows it his trenchcoat is hitting the floor and his sweater joins shortly after, replaced by wandering fingertips that map his scarred and puckered skin from years of magic gone wrong, and he just lets her explore. There's nothing he can do and even if he could do something, he wouldn't.

While her straying fingers erupt explosions on every part of his skin that they brush, he simply focuses on her. Her hair, once pulled into a messy but sturdy bun that was held together by bobby pins is now falling, the fire-hot strands sticking to her neck with a combination of sweat and need. Her eyes, those beautiful hazel orbs that sparkle with lust and passion, flutter with every beat of her black eyelashes as she kisses his neck.

He sighs, letting his fingers wander from her shoulders to her hair and he tangles them in the wild mess that he loves with all his heart. He thinks of all the time's he's braided her hair backstage only to pull it from the style only hours after in a fit of passion.

Her lips kiss their way down a scar that descends from his throat to his navel, the aftermath of an incident with a chainsaw and a monster of indeterminate species, and he can't take it anymore. Every time she moves her dress' neckline falls lower and his bridled lust takes control once again.

Hooking his foot around hers he suddenly brings it forward, tripping her and then using her momentum, slams her into the wall and his fingers are once again at her hip and her body is shuddering against his as they creep and finally descend to the apex of her thighs. Fingers inching lower, he playfully nips at her shoulder where a small tattoo of a doodled pine tree sits innocently and he's just brushing her clothed womanhood, closing his eyes at the sound of her whimpering—

"Am I interrupting something?"

The voice behind them causes the redhead pinned against the wall to smile, opening her eyes and he lets his head come to rest on her shoulder, sighing heavily.

"Damn you."

He turns and finds his sister standing there, smirking, with one hand on her hip and the other flipping a coin around. As he watches, the coin disappears and he laughs, seeing right through her hypnotizing act. "Nice try, slick."

She shrugs, tossing the coin to the redhead behind him, who snickers. "Couldn't hurt to try."

Suddenly she's saddled up beside him, smirking, and he knows what's coming. "So…did you see the girl in aisle three during our performance?"

Rolling his eyes he steps away, brushing off imaginary dust from his trenchcoat as he swoops down to pick it up where it was discarded during their love session. "Of course I did, idiot. I can _read minds_. I could see and well as _hear_ exactly what she was thinking when she saw me and I don't fancy being called _smoking hot in a mysterious and dark vampire sort of way_ thank you."

Behind him the redhead slides her arms around his shoulders and presses her mouth to his ear. "Is that so?" she purrs into his ear and in front of him his sister loses it.

"Oh god, Wendy, you should have been there. The things she was imagining—whoo! It was getting spi-cy let me tell you. Especially the part with the whipped cream—"

He can feel the girl behind him laughing, her body shaking against his, and he just rolls his eyes and throws his arms up with exasperation. "Give me a break, that happens all the time. This time is no different and Mabel _why are you on the floor."_

His sister is bent over, clutching at her stomach as she laughs, and the sounds of joy bounce off the empty walls around them. Soon his lover is on the floor as well and he just crosses his arms and waits until their giggles cease.

Mabel's pulling herself from the floor and wiping her eyes, smearing her perfect mascara and eyeliner when she answers. "Mason…she thought he were together."

The words take a second to set in but when they do he's bewildered. "What?"

His sister's answer is lost to another bout of laughter, but she manages to choke out a response despite her mirth over the situation. "She—thought we—were—oh god—dating!"

He raises an eyebrow as Wendy giggles, trying to cover her mouth to conceal the noise. "Don't you two advertise yourselves as the Alchemy _Twins_?"

Mason sighs, letting out a single chuckle at the twisted situation before sliding down the wall and sitting on the floor with his sister and lover, shaking his head. "I hate you both.

* * *

Despite the major scolding Pacifica and him get from his Graunty Susan when she finds them sneaking in after the show that night, Gideon finds himself in the same spot, on the same night a week later.

The curtains draw, and this time as he settles in with Pacifica by his side, he notices the show isn't as daring as last time. Or, at least the beginning isn't. Heavy midnight-blue drapes are pulled aside to reveal an empty dark stage, and even the spotlight is dimmed so that the only light in the room comes from the open flap where late stragglers file in.

Next to him, the cashier at the Mystery Shack grumbles. The tall boy with the inky black hair slouches in his seat, texting a friend and Gideon plucks it from his hands, shushing his protests.

"Shhh!"

Finally the final tourist walks through the door and with a soft _thud_ the doors close behind them, extinguishing all remaining light in the tent and causing both Gideon and Pacifica's heart to jump. They're going to see the twins again.

* * *

 **A/N: this is only going to be a four parter, and as always, updates are on Wednesday and Sunday!**

 **-a.m**


End file.
